Since the failed coup of July 2016, the level of intolerance against those not siding with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intensified. Turkish nationalism, combined with the growing Islamisation of Turkish society, means the tiny Christian minority, and other religious minorities, face mounting pressure, which is increasingly translating into violent incidents. While religious conversion is not prohibited by Turkish law, there are serious implications for Muslims who convert to Christianity, as they often experience intense pressure from family, friends and community to return to Islam.
Sara got married
On March 8, International Women’s Day, many of the people in southeastern Turkey only want to discuss one thing. She is Sara, an 18-year-old Assyrian/Syriac woman, who was allegedly kidnapped by sympathizers of Huda-Part, Allah’s party, the Kurdish equivalent to Hezbollah. Others say she merely followed her heart and converted […]
Turkey returns less than half of monastery land it seized
The Turkish Ministry of EU Affairs welcomed March 2 the return of property, seized by the country’s treasury, to the world’s oldest Syriac Orthodox monastery, Mor Gabriel. In February, the head of the Mor Gabriel Religious Foundation, Kuryakos Ergun, received the property deeds to 12 plots of land totaling 244,000 […]
Malatya murder suspects out of jail
As expected, the five men suspected of killing three Christians in Malatya, Turkey, nearly seven years ago have been released from jail as their trial continues. The Malatya First High Criminal Court released the suspects March 8 in response to a new law, which took effect last week, that reduces […]
Malatya murder suspects to be set free
A 2008 snapshot of the five Malayta murder suspects.World Watch Monitor Five Turkish murder suspects on trial for torturing and killing three Christians in Malatya nearly seven years ago are expected to be set free on bail within the next few days, before the conclusion of their trial in […]
‘Ugly’ charges against Turkish pastor dropped
Protestant Pastor Orhan Picaklar was informed last week that what he called “ugly slanders” against his character and conduct have been officially dropped by the Turkish prosecutor investigating his case. Picaklar was detained on Nov. 11, 2013 and held for two days in the Black Sea coastal city of Samsun […]
Turkey blacklists foreign evangelist without explanation
A Canadian-American street evangelist left Istanbul on Saturday (Dec. 14) after Turkey’s Ministry of Interior repeatedly denied him a residence permit with no explanation. David Byle, Chairman of the Bible Correspondence Course (BCC), has opened a court case against Turkey’s Ministry of Interior in an effort to remove his name […]
Turkish pastor arrested on human trafficking accusations
Pastor Orhan Picaklar was arrested on Monday.Samsun Agape Church A Turkish Protestant pastor arrested by police in the Black Sea province of Samsun this week is accused of involvement in prostitution and the human trafficking of refugees. Pastor Orhan Picaklar of the Samsun Agape Church was summoned to local […]
Promised legal reforms disappoint Turkey’s religious minorities
An empty classroom in the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary near Istanbul, closed by the Turkish government since 1971.World Watch Monitor The Turkish government’s long-awaited “democratisation package” of reform laws announced this week has met with considerable disappointment among Turkey’s minority religious communities. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on […]
Turkish military linked to Christian murders
Memorial photo banner of the three slain Malatya victims: Ugur Yuksel, Necati Aydin, and Tilmann Geske, April 2008.World Watch Monitor Nearly six years into the court trial over the murder of three Christians in southeastern Turkey, documents have emerged confirming that secret military units were involved in those assassinations […]
After 12 years, Turkey closes the door on American church volunteer
Jerry Mattix makes a presentation on Luke in an undated photoSpecial to World Watch Monitor After 12 years serving a church in Turkey voluntarily and peacefully, Jerry Mattix suddenly is on the country’s blacklist. Officially, the government has deemed Mattix a threat to national security. Yet the police have […]